Improving Lives

Issue 100 January 2013

All around the world, various projects and initiatives are being undertaken to help improve the quality of life for the wider community, and we must do what we can to support them.

The Ethical section of emel has been one of the most diverse sets of pages in the magazine. Throughout the past 99 issues, we have covered international charities, nature conservation, children’s programmes, disability issues, maternal health, natural disasters and the relief initiatives, deprived communities, interfaith organisations, community interest companies, and many, many more. What they all have in common is that they are linked to helping make the world a better place for us to live in.

We can’t ignore the inequality and injustice in the world. For various reasons, there are people living in absolute poverty in developing countries, and we must do everything we can to support those initiatives that work towards changing these unfortunate circumstances. Whether it be through donating for a water well in Africa, supporting those who have lost their homes to natural disaster in Bangladesh, or helping people that have been displaced by the civil war in Syria, all of these people are in urgent need of our help and it is our duty to do what we can for them.

However, sometimes longer-term solutions are needed to help people around the world. For example, Zayotun is a community interest company that works with Palestinian dates farmers to export their produce around the world. People tend to assume that dates originate from the Arab countries, but in 2010, Israel exported $60 million of dates, with much of this demand coming from the UK market. If Muslims around the world continue to purchase their dates through Zaytoun, then they will be helping to fight the poverty trap that the Israeli occupation has created for the Palestinians.

The natural world around us is also under threat. As humans continue to consume material goods, we are using up more and more natural resources, and the situation can only worsen over the next few years. As such, we have highlighted environmental initiatives that are working to combat this. Nature Iraq is one such organisation that is helping to restore the Mesopotamian Marshlands of Iraq, which were destroyed for land reclamation and oil exploration, as they believe that the people and the environment are inter-connected, and by helping to restore the environment, they can help restore Iraq.